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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fork — in a road
  5. court — for sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. press — newspapers
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — to cut
  10. court — of a king
  11. clip — a video
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. band — a music group
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. press — to push
  24. band — a ring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com